Team story
Origins
Venturi’s entry in 1992 came through Larrousse, not through building an entirely new team. The French sports car marque, born from Claude Poiraud and Gérard Godfroy’s work, joined Gérard Larrousse’s organisation after its collaboration with Lola ended. The new single-seater was named LC92 and entrusted to Bertrand Gachot and Ukyo Katayama.
The Formula 1 journey
Gachot scored the season’s only point with sixth at Monaco. That same weekend, Katayama failed to pass pre-qualifying, a stage still required to gain access to Grand Prix practice. The Japanese driver had made his debut at Kyalami, where he was classified twelfth.
Their careers in the LC92 combined results far from the points, retirements and difficulties reaching the grid.
Historical timeline
Three chapters in the story of Venturi
Three episodes to revisit the people, cars and races that shaped this journey.
First appearance · South African Grand Prix
Ukyo Katayama · South African Grand Prix 1992. The recorded position is P12; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This is the first recorded race start, or the first entry if the team never started a race.
Sporting landmark · Monaco Grand Prix
Bertrand Gachot · Monaco Grand Prix 1992. The recorded position is P6; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This marks the first win or podium where one exists, otherwise the highest recorded placing for this constructor.
Latest recorded appearance · Australian Grand Prix
Ukyo Katayama · Australian Grand Prix 1992. The recorded outcome is DNF. This is the last race start attributed to this constructor in the archive, not necessarily the end of the organisation behind it.
A distinctive way of racing
The design was developed in Britain, with contributions from Robin Herd, Michel Tétu and Tino Belli. The 3.5-litre V12 came from Lamborghini. The Venturi name therefore did not make the LC92 a single-seater derived from the French road-going sports cars: it was a Grand Prix car built for the Larrousse programme, with expertise and supplies spread across different countries.
What remains
Venturi left the agreement after a single season; in 1993, the team returned to racing under the Larrousse name with the LH93. The car marque followed a separate history, reaching electric propulsion and Formula E much later. Gachot’s point remains its result in this particular world championship chapter, without absorbing Larrousse’s earlier or later seasons.